Qin Yu calmed his mind and first set up the alchemy furnace properly, then took out the healing herbs he was most familiar with.
Next, he placed one of the herbs into the alchemy furnace.
"Boom!"
The Spirit Fire ignited.
Even though he had been warned by his teacher's wife, Qin Yu had already reduced the output of his Spiritual Power, but the flames still surged up, almost enveloping the entire alchemy furnace.
With a compression of his Spiritual Power, the flames were immediately suppressed.
"It's indeed the Middle Tier of the initial stage!"
Before, it was just a guess, but now it was seen with his own eyes.
Yin Qinghe's eyes sparkled, and Zhao Mengli's eyes also lit up.
She was actually just at the Initial Stage.
The reason wasn't that her talent wasn't good enough, rather, she was too young.
With the Middle Tier of the initial stage Spiritual Power, the process of refining herbs went smoothly, and even purifying a First Grade medicinal liquid was hardly prone to failure.
After Qin Yu refined the herbs he placed into the alchemy furnace, Yin Qinghe slightly furrowed her brow and handed him a portion of already refined basic medicinal liquid, "Try purifying it."
Refining herbs is actually just a laborious task; as long as one has awakened Spiritual Power, it can be refined by consuming Spiritual Power and Spirit Fire.
In a herbal shop like Danxin Herb Hall, ordinary medicinal liquid is collected not for selling, but for the apprentices in the shop to purify.
This way, a lot of time is saved.
Time and effort-saving.
"Understood!"
Qin Yu first cleaned the medicinal liquid inside the alchemy furnace before pouring in the given portion.
He first restored some consumed Spiritual Power and Spirit Fire.
This cautious action caused Yin Qinghe's eyes to show a hint of appreciation.
In the path of alchemy, two words must be remembered...caution!
Especially in the third step, extreme caution is needed, as even a minor mistake can lead to failure in condensing the pill.
After some time.
Qin Yu began purifying, which caused a change not only in Yin Qinghe's expression but also made Zhao Mengli's eyes widen in surprise.
The reason was simple, Qin Yu's method of alchemy was...
No method at all!
The use of Spiritual Power had no technique whatsoever!
It was purely relying on the strength of his Spiritual Power, charging straight ahead!
If Spiritual Power were a knife, and Qin Yu the wielder, it wasn't just as if he was using the back of the knife to chop someone; he was using the handle to hit instead.
In the eyes of Yin Qinghe and Zhao Mengli, Qin Yu's actions were so absurd.
But they did not interrupt.
Until Qin Yu finished purifying.
Now they understood how the medicinal liquid, higher than First Grade yet below Second Grade, came to be.
Even though they had some speculations in their minds, Qin Yu's actions still surprised them.
How to put it...
A complete novice!
Just like someone who had just stepped into the apprenticeship phase, having barely purified medicinal liquid a few times.
Qin Yu's achievement in Spiritual Power was already at the Middle Tier, though!
Even if he was constructing something piecemeal, figuring things out on his own, it shouldn't be this...absurd, right?
After all, the step from Initial Stage to Middle Tier seems small but is actually worlds apart.
Normal disciples of alchemists also take fifty or sixty years to accomplish this step.
Even those with exceptional talent, like Yin Qinghe, took nearly ten years!
Her talent in Spiritual Power was excellent, but was limited by Root Bone, thus she could not become a true alchemist.
This is also why alchemists are extremely rare in Lin Xian City.
The conditions are stringent.
Returning to Qin Yu.
Even if his talent is immense, going from Initial Stage to Middle Tier would still take a few years, right?!
A few years of exploring on one's own, at least he should be stepping into the water, even if only feeling the stones across the river.
Yet Qin Yu was still standing on the shore.
They certainly didn't know that Qin Yu had not had his Spiritual Power enhanced for long, and he hadn't dedicated his entire energy to researching the purification of medicinal liquid.
Yin Qinghe's expression became serious as she began pointing out his shortcomings, "Purifying like this greatly wastes your Spiritual Power! At least seventy percent is wasted!"
"Firstly, you must master the method and technique of using Spiritual Power."
"Otherwise, even at the Middle Tier of the initial stage, you won't be able to purify Second Grade medicinal liquid!"
As she spoke, Yin Qinghe personally demonstrated to Qin Yu.
"Spiritual Power is an extension of one's will..."
She used Spiritual Power as threads, forming them into a net, dropping it into the medicinal liquid, then lifting it out...
With just one time, the impurities expelled far exceeded what Qin Yu did in ten attempts combined!
Qin Yu watched, dumbfounded!
So...Spiritual Power can be used like this?!
In his demeanor, he looked like someone finally realizing that a knife is supposed to cut.
His teacher's wife's Spiritual Power wasn't much stronger than his, but when purifying medicinal liquid, she worked like an adept embroiderer, threading a needle, easily removing impurities he couldn't extract.
In comparison, the gap between them wasn't just a little bit.
"Purifying medicinal liquid is essentially filtering out difficult-to-remove impurities within it, so while using the strength of Spiritual Power, you must also learn some usage techniques!"
Yin Qinghe instructed and demonstrated purifying, exuding an air of ease and grace throughout the process.
"Try again. It may be difficult at first, and might even set you back, but as you get proficient, you'll purify more impurities!"
"Alright!"
Qin Yu concentrated, replicating what he saw his teacher's wife do.
Initially, his movements were clumsy.
Though his teacher's wife could easily weave a complete net, he could only create a tangled mess, like a ball of chaos, lacking any order, maintaining it with great difficulty, as though it could collapse at any moment.
Had his Spiritual Power remained at the Initial Stage, it would likely have snapped by now.
That counts as his advantage!
Still, even though it looked like a chaotic mess, the purification effect far exceeded what he achieved earlier; with just one attempt, it was comparable to three or four of his previous efforts.
It truly worked!
A glimmer of light flashed in Qin Yu's eyes as he sensed many impurities he previously couldn't remove being extracted.
This might very well be the key to turning the medicinal liquid into Second Grade.
He continued.
The process was awkward; even controlling that tangled mess of lines was extremely challenging for him.
After all, calling it a tangled mess was simply a metaphor, it meant an irregular web, which involves dividing his Spiritual Power into dozens of parts, the difficulty of control imaginable!
Purification is actually a delicate task.
Yin Qinghe continued to instruct from the side, discussing techniques for utilizing Spiritual Power, withholding nothing, each insight illuminating a new understanding for Qin Yu, lifting his veil of ignorance.
His control over Spiritual Power indeed became smoother.
Though Yin Qinghe appeared calm, her heart was stirred.
Qin Yu may have started at a low point, but his understanding was truly remarkable. Despite attempting these techniques for the first time, he was already getting the hang of it.
She reminisced how long it took her to reach this stage.
A year?
Three years?
This guy truly seemed like a bright pearl hidden under dust.